BLIZZARD CEO WHO WORKED ON WARCRAFT 2, 3 AND STARCRAFT STEPS DOWN 164 0

World of Warcraft Executive Producer, J. Allen Brack, Will Take His Place

The long-time captain of the ship over at Blizzard, Mike Morhaime, has stepped down. He has left the helm to World of Warcraft Executive Producer J. Allen Bracke. While the new leadership steers, Morhaime shall serve as a strategic advisor.

Morhaime’s illustrious career at Blizzard Entertainment began back in 1998, a path that gained him the title of CEO in 2007. To follow in his footsteps, the company elected the man who kept their acclaimed MMO afloat for so many years.

“J. has been with Blizzard for over 12 years leading the World of Warcraft team,” said Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO, “and it takes vision, creativity and unwavering commitment to excellence to sustain a community of players the way J. has for over a decade. J. is an inspiring leader. He has shown unwavering commitment to our community, to innovation and creative excellence and he cares deeply about ensuring the very best of Blizzard culture will be protected.”

Blizzard is also seeing some internal shifts as a result of the big change. New names have been added to the executive team, according to a statement from Kotick: “I am also excited to have Allen Adham, Blizzard’s founder, who rejoined the company two years ago and Ray Gresko, Blizzard’s Chief Development Officer, join Blizzard’s executive leadership team. I have known both Allen and Ray for more than 25 years and they are two of the most capable entrepreneurs in the game industry. They will help make certain that inspiration and creativity remains the focus of Blizzard.”

Bracke then reaffirmed Blizzard’s commitment to its titles. While a leadership change can leave many fans in the dark—and Blizzard has many—the new Captain promises to maintain a quality pipeline of video games and service. He said the following:

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to serve as Blizzard’s next president and to lead one of the best entertainment companies in the world, thanks to the passion and dedication of our player community and employees.

“Blizzard was founded on the promise of making great games, and I plan to continue this fierce commitment to quality, our community, and our purpose. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s next given the strength of our pipeline.”

During his venerable career at Blizzard, Morhaime worked on Warcraft 2, 3, and Starcraft, after which he executive produced nearly all of the company’s major projects. Only time will tell how the legendary video game developer and publisher fares, going forward. But it seems to be in promising hands.